1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cryopump and a method of monitoring the cryopump.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cryopump is a vacuum pump that captures and pumps gas molecules by condensing or adsorbing molecules on a cryopanel cooled to an extremely low temperature. A cryopump is generally used to achieve a clean vacuum environment required in a semiconductor circuit manufacturing process.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H6-301617 describes a production management system in which a plurality of production apparatuses, such as a sputtering apparatus, and the like, are connected with a central host computer via a LAN. Each production apparatus is provided with a cryopump, and an independent network, different from the network of the production apparatuses, is created among a plurality of cryopumps and a computer for maintenance management. Thereby, maintenance or management of the plurality of cryopumps is collectively performed.
However, in the aforementioned production management system, it is needed to newly install a computer for maintenance management and further to newly create another new network, thereby resulting in an increase in the cost for the system. Further, because the network is different from that of production apparatuses, the network is, after all, no more than a network for simply recording and managing operation states of the cryopumps, independently from the production apparatuses.